Habib Koité, Mali’s biggest pop star (according to The Rolling Stone), who has been likened to Eric Clapton, rocked the stage last week at the Temple for Performing Arts. My six year old and I were lucky enough to catch the star while he visited Des Moines on a cold snowy night. The average year round temperature in Mali is over 90 F. I’m sure he was wondering what he was doing visiting our city when the temperatures where in the negative digits.

Habib Koité rocking the stage

Thankfully for us, Koité’s music heated up the room and allowed the audience to forget about the weather, at least for a little while.